Examines, compares, and contrasts New Zealand and Australian model programs of outdoor leadership development based upon the British Mountain Leadership Certificate System. Offers ideas on risk management and the issue of certification. (NEC)

Responses of 75 expert outdoor leaders from Canada and the United States concerning leadership in 12 hypothetical backpacking scenarios provided partial support for a theory that predicted probability of leadership style (democratic, autocratic, or abdicratic) based on favorability of conditions, task orientation, and relationship orientation.…

Summarizes theories of group development encompassing the stages of orientation, conflict, integration, achievement, and breakup. Relates group development stages to leadership styles and the leader's relative concern for dimensions of task and relationship. Applies the five-stage model of group development to the progress of groups involved in…

An international group of experts generated a list of 14 skills and attributes of outdoor leadership. The top-rated components were (1) safety skills; (2) judgment based on experience; (3) awareness and empathy for others; (4) group management skills; (5) problem-solving skills; (6) instructional skills; (7) technical activity skills; and (8)…

Discusses ways in which outdoor leadership preparation differs in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada based on questionnaire responses of 169 selected experts. Examines skills (technical activity, organizational, environmental, instructional, group management, problem solving) and attributes (motivational,…

Describes a 10-step process for analyzing danger as a way of reducing the chance that an accident will happen, or minimizing its consequences to acceptable and recoverable levels. Factors that can inhibit the process include inappropriate attribution, relaxed concentration, rushing to maintain a schedule, group or peer pressure, and poor judgment.…

Defines the concept of leadership. Reviews different theories of leadership and how they relate to outdoor leadership. The Conditional Outdoor Leadership Theory is a new approach to leadership based on applying the appropriate leadership style according to importance of task, group relationship, and level of conditional favorability. (LP)

Attitudes toward various outdoor leadership competencies and differences in approaches to selection, training, assessment, and certification of outdoor leadership candidates were examined among 169 experts from 5 English-speaking countries. U.S. experts had the most extreme attitudes and were concerned about insurance, litigation, and land…

Presents a problem-solving model for outdoor group leaders. Describes assessment, analytical and creative phases of the model, and emphasizes the importance of experience-based judgment. Discusses ways of providing experiential problem-solving opportunities in outdoor leadership preparation programs. (SV)

Effective communication is sending a message so that it is received the way it was meant. Barriers to effective communication, or "noise," may include mental blocks, technical jargon, social norms, or values. Feedback, paraphrasing, impression checking, and behavior description are ways to improve communication and facilitate learning…

Explains the preexperience, experience, and postexperience phases of seven teaching styles: dictated, prescribed, directed, consulted, interpreted, automated, and shared. The most effective and appropriate style suits the situation, fits the preferences of leader and clients, and results in appropriate client independence. Although no single best…

An international study was undertaken to determine the differences in attitude and approach to outdoor leadership preparation for experts from five nations. Characteristics derived from a canonical discriminant function analysis were used to explain the differences in North America and provide the foundation for a model program. (Author/CW)

A survey completed by 189 persons attending the 1983 National Association for Experiential Education Conference resulted in a rank ordered list of 39 competency areas, considered essential to the effective outdoor leader. Respondents placed greatest importance on items related to safety, group counseling, and interaction. (JHZ)

Examines need for realignment of outdoor experience into non-competitive mode, suggesting similar changes in outdoor leadership training. Develops training model from experts' ideas of important components of outdoor leadership training. Applies model to four-year North American university program. Recommends program model for scrutiny and…

Outdoor leaders with sound judgment can gather many specific experiences, induce them into a collection of general concepts, store these as memory maps in the mind, later recall the general concepts as needed, and deduce a specific prediction from them. Proposes that evaluative reflection after a judgment is made is the component missing from most…